Academy Fixtures

STOKE CITY’s Academy teams are all set to kick-off their second parts of the season… with the first round of fixtures for the Under-21s and Under-18s coming up this weekend.

After each team missed out on promotion to the Elite Phase, their focus will now switch to the Qualification Group, with the Under-21s taking on Norwich City at Nantwich Town’s Weaver Stadium on Friday evening in their first match.

The Under-18s will start on Saturday when they make the short trip to West Bromwich Albion, hoping to take momentum from their convincing 4-0 FA Youth Cup win over Brighton before Christmas.

Along with the Baggies, John Perkins’ youngsters will face trips to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sunderland, West Ham United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur before the end of the season, with the winner of the group taking on the triumphant team in the other qualification group in a play-off.

The winner from that will then face the first placed team from the Elite Phase in the first of two semi-finals, with the other being contested by the second and third placed teams from the Elite Phase.

The same format applies to the Under-21s, who will come up against Reading, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers and Crystal Palace as well as the Canaries.